Made in Abyss Episode 2 Review: Resurrection Festival

I have been patiently waiting the whole week for this new episode of Made in Abyss, and it was sure worth the wait! The story dove right into some important plot details that are part of the story’s heart. However, everything still feels a bit shallow. It’s kinda like how Riko met a very important relic, Reg, in just the first level of the Abyss! The new info just made everything even more exciting and endearing!

Japanese Original Episode Title: 復活祭

Plot

The Red Whistle gang just gained a new member, but there’s a problem. Once the adults find out about him being from the Abyss, they’ll surely take him away. Relics are very important to the government after all, and everyone, local and foreign raiders, are on the hunt for them! They’ll surely never let a robot from the depths of the Abyss get away! However, because of their quick thinking and Reg’s natural acting skills, he easily became a part of the orphanage and started preparing to become a cave raider like them and help them out! The day before he was to receive his own red whistle, elite cave raiders came back with important new findings, ones that were about Riko’s mother!

Episode Highlights

Daily life: First of all, anyone else found Riko’s curiosity and pursuit of new knowledge amazingly insane? I mean, kudos to the child for being that way, but her sense of personal space with regards to Reg is…seemingly non-existent! Makes me wonder if she only acts that way with him because she knows he’s a robot and doesn’t see him like the other boys. I do hope so, in a sense. Anyway, at least Reg’s been successfully integrated into the Belchero Orphanage! Who knew it’d be that easy to pass him off as a human child and get him to stay there! He did such a good job being calm as he told his scripted backstory. Though, when Leader asked him for his name, I was super worried that he’d connect him to Riko! Reg was named after her dog after all! Or, maybe he did have an idea but just decided to play along? The latter one would be less likely given his demeanor, but what if, right? Well, so long as Reg doesn’t get separated from Riko and the others and help them out in cave raiding, all’s well that ends well! He seemed to fit in quite well there too, a fact that warmed my heart!

Cave raiders: I initially thought that the idea of celebrating and wanting to become like the people who risked their lives going to the unknown was quite off. But then I realized that we also do the same for a certain group of people in our society: soldiers. I guess it just felt weird because, while soldiers die fighting for the freedom of their country, cave raiders were dying for science and money, which could become a selfish endeavor depending on motives. But then again, those things are also important, and it’s not like they were being forced to do it. To think that they would willingly go knowing the hell of things they might experience just for the fame and fortune, though! They really are insane!

Lyza the Annihilator: Who knew Riko’s mother wasn’t just a regular cave raider, but a legendary one? No wonder Riko idolized her so much and wanted to reach the level that she did! Now, rather than just being someone she looked up to, I’m sure she loved her mother more than ever after hearing Leader’s story. The people were celebrating her ‘soul’s’ return, only seeing her as a cave raider who accomplished feats others can only hope to achieve. But for Riko, and even Leader, she was a woman who prioritized her family first more than fame and fortune, even though it jeopardized her mission. She’s truly a hero!

What she found there:Somehow I felt quite bad that there wasn’t an actual long letter addressed to Riko. However, it’s still a good thing that Habo’s team managed to retrieve Lyza’s belongings, because they seemed to be carrying really important information! She saw quite a lot of amazing new things, and even found some information related to Reg! Did she perhaps see other robot beings like him? And what did she mean by she’ll be waiting for them at the bottom? Did she even write that? So many questions just keep arising!

Themes & Trivia

Heroes:This show may not have characters that possess supernatural powers that make them superheroes like in My Hero Academia, but that doesn’t stop anyone from becoming ordinary everyday heroes! Just as Lyza was a hero to the people and to her daughter, the other cave raiders are also honored just for going down to the Abyss! Even in our society, like I mentioned, people like soldiers, firemen, policemen, teachers, doctors and the like can also be seen as modern heroes!

Family over success:In life, it’s important to know your priorities! Lyza, despite having a weird disposition according to Leader, still knew from the get-go that she had to save her newborn daughter before anything else! She knew that fame and fortune could never replace her own flesh and blood, especially just after losing her husband. I hope that Riko, when it comes down to it, will follow in her mother’s steps in this matter as well! And I hope that we, too, will never sacrifice our loved ones for the sake of success!

Star Compass:In our world, there are no physical star compasses that exist, as least as far as I’ve researched. Instead, it’sjust mental constructs that make use of the horizon and the positioning of the stars. The star compass was created to help wayfinders get to their destinations! Here in the show, however, how will the star compass help out our protagonists?

Comments

When it comes to divulging important information in stories, I feel like there’s always a risk of coming off as forced. But this episode didn’t feel like it was hard to do at all! It all felt so natural! Even the part where the time skipped two months, the montage was so nice and I could totally feel how Reg must’ve felt then, that time flew by fast. Also, the suspense as they showed the Black Whistles arriving and reporting a white whistle kept me on edge! I had no idea why the people looked excited since I thought someone died! But then they revealed that it really was a cause for excitement, and that it was Riko’s mother, and you all know the rest. I just loved every second!

How will you live the life she saved?

I’m pretty sure a lot of us are already drawing their own theories regarding different things, like who Reg actually is or what bearing the letter actually has. If that’s the case, then the story’s doing a really great job of keeping us in suspense! I know I am!

Let me know your thoughts on how this episode fared for you! Did it manage to grab your attention even more than before? Plus, ourSummer 2017 first and second episode reviews are piling up, so if you’re interested to add some more shows in your watch list, why don’t you give them a read?